Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1887-03-22
0FTHEB.& 0.


he accomplished il hut this was not until
more than twenty years after the begin
ming Of the mad. In l-42 the rad reach
81 Cumberland, a distance OF l7S miles
from Baltimore, but il was not until ISL
that Piedmont was reached and Altamont
summit scaled.
On Christmas Eve, December "a, 1S52,
the last rail was laid into the city Of
Wheeling, and on the LIST OF January, lSE5.
the first locomotive, with its train Of ears,
that had vet crossed the A~lleghanies from
Ohio river. After nearly n quarter OF =
century the lODg-deferred hopes Of the PEG
pie Of Baltimore were realized. The en-
gineering genius hy which the road was
carried from Cumberland 10 Wheeling.
through and over the mountains, had
never been surpassed anywhere in the
world. Indeed, the things accomplished
had been up 70 that time looked Up"n As
impOSsibilitIeS. Upon the .Ap miles be
tween Cumberland and Wheeling there
are twelve tunnels of various lengths,
the longest Of which i 4.lUO feet, over
th~reequaTter> Of a mile, aud which took
two wears and eight months TO complete.
The next in length l. Loo feet. The
bridges are also numerous, L the "treSt-
ling" across the gOrgeS. on the ascent Of
the Cheat nver hill, are structures of a
novel charactO, being viaducts supported
bv slender pillars of cast iron, very light
IN appearance, Vet strong and durable.
one OF these viaduCts is - feet high, and
another So feet, resting upon a solid wall
OF masonry l2O feet below the base of the
columns. In the design and erection OF
the bridges ami viaductS, Mr.. LatnObe. the
chief engineer. was assisted by Albert
Fink. a talented German engineer, who tor
many years now has been the pool CON-
missioner Of the great trunk railroads.
The cost of the road from Baltimore 10
Wheeling was 4 little over Sl5.OOO,oOV.
BENJAMIN A. Latrobe, the engineer TO
whose genius the success OF tine Rad Is due,
was born IN Philadelphia in l~n6. He was
educated for the har. but after a few years
practice. gave up the profession and
studied engineering. In lSH he became
an assistant engineer on the Baltimore ana
Ohio Road. In this capacity he served
until lS42. Al which time the road had
reached Cumberland. He was then aP-
pointrd chief engineer, and : such located
/ and constructed the road 10 Wheeling.
On the 18th Of January, ISIS, agreat Gel
ebration was held In Wheeling 10 commem-
crate the opening of the road. The Gov
eruors of Virginia and Maryland, the
members Of the Legislatures OF those states.
the president directors and other officers OF
the railroad company, and distinguished
/ citizens from various sections of the coun-
try all participated. OF the promoters Of
the who had witnessed the COM
neDcement Of the ruad July 4, lS2>,al j had
uasSed away save three. Philip /. Thomas,
The first president OF the road. still survived
AZ an advanced age. but was unable to he
preSent az the Wheeling festivities. Ot
The three survivors George Brown.
the first treasurer of the company,
was the only n present At the
Wheeling banquet. In ISL John W. Jar
rett Of Baltimore, became = director In
. the and the following year Pres
/ iSent- and under his able management the
road became successful financially, and
vas puSbed out further West but II was
/ not until lS74 that il reached Chicago.
[ puriuc the civil war the o proved OF
immense service 10 the government, and
I = destruction became of the highest I'M
| portapce to the ConfederateS. Several
/ tunes during the war II was wholly VI IN
rart in their possession, the track de
Stroved for many miles and hundreds OF
- cars and locomotives ruined. From the
| ii Of October. lS6l. TO March -. l>62.
the road Was IN operation only at us eN-
] tremities. lOOmiles of II, between Harper :
" T-h--n.ml haErnu hen A.
/ most completely destroyed by SIoneWail
! Jackson in his first raid. DunGg the year
Z lSS2 the road was in the company pos-
session only four months lets last ASH
Was DESTROYED the work of rebuilding was
undertaken with energy and raPldity.
| Some OF the bridges on the rad were de
stroyed and rebuilt three times. Mr.
Garrett born in lS30 in Baltimore, had
hen engaged in the banking business, and
il was not until he became president oi the
r.ilroad in 1SSS that he bad taken an ac-
tive interest IN the road Ii bad never
hem ppftable to the stockholders, and II
had been more or less a political foot ball.
owing TO the interest in IL pOSseSSed by the
city of Baltimore and the state OF
MARYLAND. From this latter condl-
| tiop. after much patient Worklng
with the Legislature, he succeeded IN eNtn-
| eating II. and then by introducing the most
rigid economy and s~trictest business res-
uiations in all its departments, be saw II
reach a paying basis At about the time oil
/ the ou;break OF the war. During those
tppblous times il could not pay, but when
,ba var was over II again began to b Pros-
nerous A large stOckholder, possessed o.
a large private fortune, the mere matter Of
salary wasnOt very important TO him. and
he never would accept IN increase over the
sun Of $4,000, which had been the pres
identia salary Of the road from almost its
earliest days Whether he did this for the
~nnrpose OF being a bright and shining ex-
ample to his employees and keeping 0tnei
salaries down, or beeauSe ht
thought it good pay for VIA ne
did. NAV be matter Of opinion he dld
keen the salaries and pay Of all ms en-
ployes down at n reasonably low rate In
July, 1877, q reduction Of 10 per cent wa